This invention relates to broadband communication networks. More particular, this invention relates to providing a voice aided diagnostic for a voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) based device of the broadband network system.
In a traditional broadband network system, such as a cable TV network system, at least one communication gateway (CG) is installed at customer's premises to operate as a gateway between the customer and the administrator. The system administrator provides video and audio data to the customers and controls the flow traffic of video, audio or data to and from the customer through the CG. For example, referring to FIG. 1, an example of a VOIP architecture is shown. In FIG. 1, a plurality of residential (CGs) 190a-190d are connected to subscriber telephone handsets 160a-60d. The CGs 190a-190d act as cable modems with telephony capability. In one embodiment, each CG 190 contains a data over cable service interface specifications (DOCSIS) based modem for supporting voice, data and possibly video. Each CG 190 supports one or more distinct phone lines and a local Ethernet port for high speed data access. A cable modem termination system (CMTS) 180 connects the HFC network 140 to an Internet Protocol (IP) based network 120. The CMTS 180 acts as an edge router to convert the cable modem technology of the HFC network 140 to a standard link layer protocol, (such as Ethernet), on the IP network 120. A trunking gateway 110 provides voice connectivity between the IP network 120 and a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 100. The trunking gateway 110 performs media transcoding such as codecs and echo cancellation between both networks. As an example, the trunking gateway 110 may transcode an G.729 encoded voice stream originating from the IP network 120 to an ITU G.711 encoded voice stream destined to the PSTN 100. The references to G.711 and G.729 are standard voice compression algorithms specified by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and are known to those skilled in the art.
A signaling gateway 130 performs signaling interconnection between the IP network 120 and the PSTN 100. The trunking gateway 110 and the signaling gateway 130 are controlled by a call agent 150 which is also connected to the IP network 120. An announcement server 170 is utilized to deliver prerecorded messages to customers. The CG performs decryption on the incoming encrypted data, or checks the subscription of programing by the customer before any program can be viewed or received by the customer's equipment connected to the CG. A CATV network can have thousands or millions of existing customers and every customer has at least one CG installed in their premesis. Besides carrying the usual video and audio signals, the CATV networks have been increasingly used to communicate over the Internet; and a new use for CATV networks in combination with the Internet is using the network as a carrier for telephone related services. Therefore, VOIP related CATV network implementation is becoming extremely critical.
Referring to FIG. 2, a CG 190 uses a combination of indicating lights L1-L5 within and indicating light bank 46 to indicate different hardware statues once the equipment is powered on. As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of indicating lights L1-L5 are energized in a particular sequence or configuration to indicate the status of the plurality of components within the CG 190. For example, L1 might be lit whenever the CG is energized. L2 may blink intermittently if a downstream communication is being received but may be lit constantly for an upstream communication. When performing diagnostics, a different configuration of the indicating lights L1-L5 may indicate different problems. The indicating lights L1-L5 are also useful when configuring the CG 190 for a particular customer.
FIG. 3 shows a procedure used by a CG 190 when powering up. The CG initiates the power up process by resetting all hardware components of the settop box (step 1 and step 3). The system loads a power-on confidence test program (test program) into the RAM (step 5), where the system starts to execute the power-on confidence test program (step 7). The test program basically tests the validity and operability of major hardware components of the system. Accordingly, the system will selectively energize the indicating lights L1-L5 to reflect the results test program (step 9). For example, indicating light 1 (L1) is on to indicate that the system processor functions well, indicating light 2 (L2) is on to indicate that the network interface is operating etc. The system can periodically execute a partial or complete test program to check its internal component and update the corresponding indicating lights accordingly (step 11). In case of a component failure, an individual lights or a combination of lights will change color, flash or turn on or off accordingly.
Increasing the functionality of a CG 190 generally means more components must be tested for operability, which leads to more indicating lights or combinations thereof. Although system administrators rely upon the correct reading of the indicating lights by customers in order to dispatch service personnel with the proper diagnostic equipment to address the problem components, it is cumbersome and difficult for a customer to interpret the different hardware states represented by different indicating lights. This process therefore, is prone to error, even when service personnel read and interpret the indicating lights. Accordingly, it is essential to provide a more user friendly and easy method to configure and diagnosis a CG for average customers and service personnel.